First Congregational Church of Wiscasset Pastor Josh Fitterling is warning people to watch out for “spam phishing” emails he said might look like he sent them.

“It breaks my heart to see this, especially at the holidays when so many people are open to lending a helping hand,” Fitterling told Wiscasset Newspaper in text replies Monday. He said the latest spam emails have asked for a favor, and the emails he warned of last week sought gift cards.

Via email last week and Monday, Fitterling told members phishing emails can “look similar at a quick glance but are in fact different” from the sending address they try to look like, and they might list the church’s name or other information to try to look legitimate. His email Monday read in part: “Please be advised that there is another spam phishing email that is going around ... pretending to be me. Please disregard any such request!”

As of Monday’s interview, Fitterling knew of no instances of members losing money to the phishing emails. 

“Everyone is very vigilant and aware of the issues,” he said. Fitterling planned to report the matter to Wiscasset Police Department.

Reached by phone later, Police Chief Larry Hesseltine said the emails have been a recurring issue for area churches. “It’s been an ongoing scam ... But as far I know, my whole lifetime I have never known a pastor to reach out to ask for help by way of gift cards, so that should be a red flag to everybody.

“If you get any requests for money or gifts cards, I would not follow through with it unless you know exactly where the money is going and who it’s going to,” Hesseltine added.

Fitterling’s two emails to members about the phishing emails each end on the same positive note: “This is truly sad, but we will not let it dampen the Christmas spirit! So let us ... create more good in our world each day!”